The new equipment adapts traditional stitch-fold spines into squared spines, which give a neater appearance and take less packing and storage space.  

Managing director Lawrence Dalton said a number of 1^st Byte customers preferred the finish because books with a Squareback finish lay flatter than those finished with a standard stitch-fold-trim booklet maker.
 
He added: "A recent job we produced was initially refused because the finish wasn’t acceptable but after putting the booklets through the SpineMaster, the client was delighted with the result. We were delighted too – it saved us a 2,000 run print job, and it saved us a valued client."

With a large part of 1^st Byte’s production being sent abroad, Dalton said the investment made sense because the booklets would take up less room in shipping boxes and could be packed more tightly so were less likely to be damaged in transit.

The £4m turnover company, which is currently expanding its offering to corporate and creative customers, also placed an order for the B2 Landa digital press and an HP Indigo 7600 following meetings at Drupa.